Our Speaker this week is Dr. Sara Brammer,Vice President of Domestic Violence Services, Synergy Services.
Dr. Sara Brammer began working as an overnight victim's advocate in the field of family violence in 1994. She continued working as a therapist for victims and offenders as she completed her Master and Doctoral Degrees in Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology at the University of Missouri. While in her doctoral program, her research and dissertation focused on love relationships and batterer intervention treatment. She is currently the Vice President of Domestic Violence Services at Synergy Services where she has worked for 23 years. She supervises the Domestic Violence Center, the Children’s Center, the Domestic Violence Housing Program, the Batterer Intervention Program, and outpatient domestic violence clinical services in this capacity. She provides frequent training on Domestic Violence and the intersection between Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and trauma. She has also served on a variety of local, state, and national committees related to domestic violence and child abuse service provisions. Her research interests continue to focus on love relationships, batterer intervention and victim services.
Dr. Brammer has successfully led the agency through two flawless COA re-accreditations and is a lead peer reviewer for other agencies. Sara was commissioned by the Missouri Supreme Court for best practices committees on Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking. She has received technical assistance from FUTURES and The Center for Justice Innovations for state-wide offender intervention implementation. Additional achievements include partnering with the Domestic Violence Court to offer exclusive offender intervention services, guest editing for the Journal of Child and Family Studies and collaborating with Yale University to implement the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention Program (CFTSI). Sara also represents Missouri on the National BIP Network and serves on the Advisory Board for the University of Missouri’s Community Counseling and Assessment Services Center.
We may have an eaglet!!! Judging from the eagles’ behavior changes from Saturday to Sunday, an egg appears to have hatched overnight! Kansas City Indian Center’s Counselors-in-Training were here for a retreat and we’re excited to see the best and eagles since they can’t see the nest when they are here during the summer.
I need Club 13 volunteers who are available to come to the camp Saturday, April 25th from 8-12 to be the “captain” of a group of District Rotarians as they work on their service projects. Please call or email the camp if you are available and willing!
So don’t miss this year’s Native Plant Sale, 4 to 6 p.m., Friday, April 17, at the Youth Camp, 22310 NE Colbern Rd., Lee’s Summit. A portion of the proceeds will go to help support our youth camp.
And, by the way, we need volunteers!! Knowledge of native plants not required!
You’ll find a vast array of native plants provided by Missouri Wildflowers Nursery, Sow Wild Natives and City Roots Nursery. You can even place your order with these nurseries ahead of time, then pick up your plants at the sale!
And, you can get up to speed on growing your native plants from the Missouri Prairie Foundation that will share information and tips on native gardening and prairie conservation.
The Kansas City Zoo will be on hand to provide fun educational activities for kids. But that’s not all. They’re also offering FREE Zoo Manoo, compost direct to you from zoo herbivores.
Not to be missed are local musicians who will be providing live music while you browse and chat with experts.
You won’t want to miss it: native plants, experts, fun for kids, music….and manoo! And best of all, it will help support our camp for disabled and disadvantaged kids.
It’s all brought to you by your friendly Ecology Committee. For more information OR TO VOLUNTEER, contact Wade Freeman, wadefreeman.hawks@gmail.com
Please join the Rotary Book Discussion Group for the discussion of the book Homeseeking by Karissa Chen. The book is available at Rainy Day Books and all Rotarians and guests are welcome.
Date: Monday, May 4, 2026, 6:30 PM
Location: Home of Janet & Glenn Crawford, 6125 Brookside Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64113
About the book:
Homeseeking follows separated lovers through six decades of tumultuous Chinese history as war, famine, and opportunity take them separately to the song halls of Hong Kong, the military encampments of Taiwan, the bustling streets of New York, and sunny California, telling Haiwen’s story from the present to the past while tracing Suchi’s from her childhood to the present, meeting in the crucible of their lives. Throughout, Haiwen holds his memories close while Suchi forces herself to look only forward, neither losing sight of the home they hold in their hearts.
The Ecology Committee will meet on April 1 at 6:00 PM at the Rotary Youth Camp. Everyone is welcome to attend. For questions, please contact Wade Freeman at wadefreeman.hawks@gmail.com.
Monday Morning Camp Volunteers at Work!
A large White Oak tree fell on the Nature trail at the camp. The Monday Crew cut up the tree and replaced all of the broken boards on the Nature trail.
Please join the Rotary Book Discussion Group for the discussion of the book Homeseeking by Karissa Chen. The book is available at Rainy Day Books and all Rotarians and guests are welcome.
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